It washes over Tony in waves. Memories accost him – sand in his mouth, sun in his eyes, shards of metal as they rip from his arm, his face, his chest. He wills particles across his hands and fingertips, sharpens them to a fine nanometric edge. He lunges for the heart, and he–
He fails. The monster from the stars grips his arm like he's a child, and then he knows pain, and tastes blood, and he fails. ]
I... I didn't, [ he mutters. But the water's already on the kettle, over open flame. It's getting warm. He's getting warm, and it's on his face. Gears turn with frenetic speed.
Sam Wilson's big brown eyes look back at him. We're in the endgame now. Peter's weary smile. He's aged. I'm fine, Tony had told him. Hey – don't worry. ]
Strange needed me alive. [ Billions of futures, but they only win in one. Math calculated out to excruciating odds – Cardinality of the Continuum meets Schrödinger's timeline, and can be neither proved nor disproved. But if you stack in its favor – plug in the right numbers, give up a coefficient to ensure the crucial operator stays in the equation, then–
I'm sorry, Stark.
Then you can solve for the remainder. ]
Okay. [ Tony shuts his eyes. Leans back in his chair. Drags his hands up and down his face. ] We win. We get everyone back. Okay.
[ His hands slide down his jaw and into his lap. He stares at a grain in the table. ]
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It washes over Tony in waves. Memories accost him – sand in his mouth, sun in his eyes, shards of metal as they rip from his arm, his face, his chest. He wills particles across his hands and fingertips, sharpens them to a fine nanometric edge. He lunges for the heart, and he–
He fails. The monster from the stars grips his arm like he's a child, and then he knows pain, and tastes blood, and he fails. ]
I... I didn't, [ he mutters. But the water's already on the kettle, over open flame. It's getting warm. He's getting warm, and it's on his face. Gears turn with frenetic speed.
Sam Wilson's big brown eyes look back at him. We're in the endgame now. Peter's weary smile. He's aged. I'm fine, Tony had told him. Hey – don't worry. ]
Strange needed me alive. [ Billions of futures, but they only win in one. Math calculated out to excruciating odds – Cardinality of the Continuum meets Schrödinger's timeline, and can be neither proved nor disproved. But if you stack in its favor – plug in the right numbers, give up a coefficient to ensure the crucial operator stays in the equation, then–
I'm sorry, Stark.
Then you can solve for the remainder. ]
Okay. [ Tony shuts his eyes. Leans back in his chair. Drags his hands up and down his face. ] We win. We get everyone back. Okay.
[ His hands slide down his jaw and into his lap. He stares at a grain in the table. ]
How long do I have?